More than 125 people turned out Tuesday night to hear the top executive of Rubloff Development Group, owner of Turfland Mall, give details of the proposed $120 million redevelopment of the mall property.

The meeting was held at the Oleika Shrine Temple on Southland Drive.

CEO Zach Knutson said Phase 1 would include leaving the former Dillard's building and finding a major commercial company to take the space, about 160,000 square feet.

The enclosed part of the mall would then be razed and replaced by office space and residential units wrapped around a 450-space, three-story parking garage. The residences would range in size from 800 to 1,200 square feet.

Knutson said the residential units would be aimed at young professionals; he said it has not been determined whether they would be apartments or condominiums.

A second, one-story building would be for street-level retail, probably businesses such as restaurants, pubs and small retail boutiques. Home Depot would remain in its present location.

Two more three-story buildings would be built on the rear of the Turfland property. "We will do everything in our power to get the buildings LEED-certified, to make them green and energy efficient," Knutson said.

The Verizon building at the corner of Lane Allen and Harrodsburg Road, of which Rubloff is an owner, will remain. Rubloff, a commerical real estate company based in Rockford, Ill., is "actively marketing the building," Knutson said.

The Turfland redevelopment hinges on securing about $40 million in tax increment financing from the city and state, attorney Bruce Simpson, representing Rubloff, told the audience.

That funding would be used to upgrade the sewers and landscaping, build a 15,000-square-foot public art space, and install pervious pavers on parking surfaces to help reduce flooding and cleanse water that flows into Wolf Run Creek watershed.

The improvements would be paid for with new tax revenue generated by the redevelopment.

The TIF application goes before the Lexington Planning Commission at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 11 for the commission to approve the conceptual plan and certify the redevelopment is in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. A zone change is not required.

Next, the plant would go to the Urban County Council, most likely sometime in February, for a TIF public hearing.

Knutson stressed that the plan was "conceptual" at this point. But he said his company was eager to redevelop Turfland Mall. "This is a very large financial burden for us. We don't want a vacant mall," he said.

Knutson said he hoped a major anchor could be found for the Dillard's store and the building renovated and leased by 2011 or 2012.

Turfland opened in 1967 as Lexington's first enclosed mall. Rubloff bought the property in 1996 and invested $5 million in upgrading the inside and exterior.

Knutson has been in contact with Staples corporate offices, and he said the office supply store wants to stay in the new Turfland Town Center. When Pat Walter, the owner of CiCi's pizza buffet buffet now at Turfland, asked whether he could remain, Knutson said, "You're paying the rent. We appreciate that." He said he hoped the restaurant would remain.

Studies show that an area can support only one regional mall of a million square feet or more, Knutson said. "With Fayette Mall being so strong, it caused us to rethink our position," he said. Dillards closed its Turfland store about three years ago. After that, the other stores left one by one.